DOCSLIB.ORG

Justice Interrupted

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Justice Interrupted 6/*5&%45"5&4*/45*565&0'1&"$& XXXVTJQPSH 41&$*"- REPORT 1200 1UI4USFFU/8t8BTIJOHUPO %$ttGBY ABOUT THE REPORT Elizabeth F. Thompson Elizabeth F. Thompson, associate professor of history at the University of Virginia, was a Jennings Randolph fellow at USIP in 2007–08. This report, drawn from her forthcoming book, Seeking Justice in the Middle East, builds bridges between two worlds that have remained separate in recent years: academic +VTUJDF*OUFSSVQUFE history of the Middle East and foreign policymaking in the region. The author thanks USIP for its support, Meagan Bridges for her research assistance, and commentators on previous )JTUPSJDBM1FSTQFDUJWFTPO1SPNPUJOH%FNPDSBDZ drafts: Nathan Brown, David Edelstein, Melvyn Leffler, Jeff Legro, William Quandt, Abdul-Karim Rafeq, Barbara Slavin, Bob Vitalis, David Waldner, and audiences at the History JOUIF.JEEMF&BTU Department at Catholic University of America, the Institute for Middle East Studies at George Washington University, the Women’s Foreign Policy Group, and the Woodrow Wilson Center, all in Washington, D.C. 4VNNBSZ t Foreign affairs experts routinely use historical analogy to develop and justify policy. However, as professional historians have long noted, attractive analogies often lead to bad policies. Officials regularly choose analogies that neglect or distort the his- torical case they aim to illuminate. Nonetheless, history can be used effectively in international relations. t To do so, practitioners must first recognize the difference between historical analogy ªCZUIF6OJUFE4UBUFT*OTUJUVUFPG1FBDF and precedent. Historical precedent, drawn from the past of the region in question, "MMSJHIUTSFTFSWFE is a safer guide to policy than historical analogy, which is based on comparisons to events in other regions. Because historical precedent is a self-limiting form of anal- ogy restricted to a certain place, people, and time, it provides a better indication of how a certain society understands and responds to a given situation. t The recent U.S. intervention in Iraq highlights the misuses of history: American lead- ers employed analogies to World War II to justify the invasion and to predict success in establishing a democratic regime after. These analogies proved to be a poor guide to nation building in the short term. In the long term, they have deeply aggravated SPECIAL REPORT 225 JUNE 2009 U.S. relations with Iraqis and the rest of the Arab world. t A more effective use of history would have been to refer to the precedent of World War I, a crucial moment when American policy could have supported indigenous Arab CONTENTS constitutional democracy—but, fatefully, did not. The Fallacy of Analogy: World War II as Americans’ t For the new administration, the Arabs’ experience of “justice interrupted” after World “Good War” 2 War I can still be a useful touchstone for promoting democracy in the region.1 This The Power of Precedent: Arabs’ Memory precedent alerts us that foreign intervention can spark a deep-seated and negative of World War I 3 political reaction in the postcolonial Arab world and that reform in Arab politics must Justice Interrupted: Arabs’ Response to Occupation 4 begin with respect for national sovereignty. It also reminds us that constitutional- Conclusion: The Use of Historical Precedent ism and the desire to participate in the community of international law are enduring in U.S. Policy 7 values in Arab politics. ABOUT THE INSTITUTE 5IF'BMMBDZPG"OBMPHZ8PSME8BS**BT"NFSJDBOTi(PPE8BSw The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan institution established and funded by During the last half-century, the most popular analogy Americans have used to justify Congress. Its goals are to help prevent and resolve war has been World War II. For Americans, it was a just war against an evil enemy that violent conflicts, promote post-conflict peacebuilding, concluded honorably with the benevolent postwar reconstruction of Japan and Ger- and increase conflict management tools, capacity, and many. In efforts to repeat the “Good War,” policymakers made analogies to World War intellectual capital worldwide. The Institute does this by II to plan and justify wars in Korea and Vietnam, even though these comparisons were 2 empowering others with knowledge, skills, and resources, not appropriate. as well as by its direct involvement in conflict zones Regarding Iraq, President George W. Bush first deployed an analogy to World War II in around the globe. his January 29, 2002, State of the Union address. He and his speechwriters deliberately used the term “axis of evil” when describing the link between terrorism and nuclear BOARD OF DIRECTORS weapons in order to invoke the Axis powers.3 In March 2003, on the eve of the Iraq J. Robinson West (Chair), Chairman, PFC Energy, Washington, invasion, Bush made the analogy even more explicit. He compared Saddam Hussein to %$t(FPSHF&.PPTF(Vice Chairman), Adjunct Professor Hitler and warned against appeasing him: “In this century, when evil men plot chemical, of Practice, The George Washington University, Washington, biological and nuclear terror, a policy of appeasement could bring destruction of a kind %$t"OOF)$BIO, Former Scholar in Residence, American never before seen on this earth.”4 6OJWFSTJUZ 8BTIJOHUPO %$t$IFTUFS"$SPDLFS, James R. Bush was not the first to use dramatic language to garner public support. Since the Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies, School of Foreign time of Woodrow Wilson, argues political scientist Jeffrey Tulis, presidents have used 4FSWJDF (FPSHFUPXO6OJWFSTJUZ 8BTIJOHUPO %$t*LSBN6 rhetoric to “go over the heads” of Congress and circumvent normal channels of delibera- ,IBO, President, Quality Care Consultants, LLC., Las Vegas, tive policymaking. In the hands of the press, Tulis argues, presidential rhetoric often /FWt,FSSZ,FOOFEZ )VNBO3JHIUT"DUJWJTUt4UFQIFO% takes on a life of its own.5 In Bush’s case, his World War II analogy not only precluded ,SBTOFS Graham H. Stuart Professor of International Relations consideration of policy alternatives inside his administration but also stoked a media BU4UBOGPSE6OJWFSTJUZt,BUIMFFO.BSUJOF[, Executive Director, frenzy that extended the analogy to other Middle East policy questions. Thomas Fried- 8PSME*OTUJUVUFPO%JTBCJMJUZt+FSFNZ"3BCLJO, Professor of man of the New York Times provided a leading example when he called the terrorist -BX (FPSHF.BTPO6OJWFSTJUZ "SMJOHUPO 7Bt+VEZ7BO3FTU, attacks of September 11, 2001, “the Pearl Harbor of World War III,”6 and the Iraq inva- Executive Vice President, International Republican Institute, sion “the most important liberal, revolutionary U.S. democracy-building project since 8BTIJOHUPO %$t/BODZ;JSLJO, Executive Vice President, the Marshall Plan.”7 For Friedman and others, the analogy also supported comparisons of Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Muslim activists to Nazis, thus justifying a militant policy in the Islamic world. Historians, meanwhile, strongly criticized analogizing World War II to Iraq. John MEMBERS EX OFFICIO Dower, the premier scholar of postwar Japan’s reconstruction, correctly predicted before 3PCFSU.(BUFT %FQBSUNFOUPG%FGFOTFt)JMMBSZ3PEIBN the invasion that Iraq lacked critical elements that had enabled successful nation build- $MJOUPO 4FDSFUBSZPG4UBUFt3JDIBSE)4PMPNPO, President, ing in Germany and Japan.8 But at a time when expansive analogies to the Good War 6OJUFE4UBUFT*OTUJUVUFPG1FBDF OPOWPUJOH t'SBODFT$ captivated the public and media, he was ignored. 8JMTPO, Lieutenant General, U.S. Marine Corps; President, Indeed, in hindsight, the analogy is weak at best. Saddam was no Hitler: he com- National Defense University manded neither a powerful army nor a loyal party machine and had no weapons of mass destruction. While dismantling the Nazi Party and its membership was an important part of postwar political reconstruction in Germany, in Iraq, following the same policy by purging the Baath Party and its members produced an institutional vacuum that nearly ended hopes of establishing democratic rule of law. Six years after the inva- sion, the press and the new administration have finally abandoned the analogy to The views expressed in this report do not necessarily World War II.9 reflect the views of the United States Institute of Peace, But finding a better analogy is not easy. Valid comparisons between circumstances in which does not advocate specific policy positions. different times and places are extremely difficult to identify and justify, as any political To request permission to photocopy or reprint materials, scientist can attest. e-mail: [email protected] Historical precedent, however, is less prone to error. It is drawn directly from people’s historical experience and examines the past of a particular place where people today continue to experience the preceding event’s legacy through institutions, memory, and culture. As a result, precedent is a more certain indicator of how people of a particular region might respond to U.S. policy. Today, in 2009, the new administration could use historical precedent to set Middle East policy on a new track. The most powerful precedent, in the eyes of Iraqis and their Arab neighbors, is World War I, not World War II. At that time, Arabs rallied to President Woodrow Wilson’s promises of liberation and self-determination. After the war, Arabs convened a constitutional congress in a bid to build their own state upon the cinders 2 of the Ottoman Empire. Their representative at the Paris Peace Conference, where they hoped to find support for
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Examples of Iraq and Syria
    BearWorks MSU Graduate Theses Fall 2017 The Unraveling of the Nation-State in the Middle East: Examples of Iraq and Syria Zachary Kielp Missouri State University, [email protected] As with any intellectual project, the content and views expressed in this thesis may be considered objectionable by some readers. However, this student-scholar’s work has been judged to have academic value by the student’s thesis committee members trained in the discipline. The content and views expressed in this thesis are those of the student-scholar and are not endorsed by Missouri State University, its Graduate College, or its employees. Follow this and additional works at: https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses Part of the International Relations Commons, and the Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons Recommended Citation Kielp, Zachary, "The Unraveling of the Nation-State in the Middle East: Examples of Iraq and Syria" (2017). MSU Graduate Theses. 3225. https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/3225 This article or document was made available through BearWorks, the institutional repository of Missouri State University. The work contained in it may be protected by copyright and require permission of the copyright holder for reuse or redistribution. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE UNRAVELING OF THE NATION-STATE IN THE MIDDLE EAST: EXAMPLES OF IRAQ AND SYRIA A Masters Thesis Presented to The Graduate College of Missouri State University TEMPLATE In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science, Defense and Strategic Studies By Zachary Kielp December 2017 Copyright 2017 by Zachary Kielp ii THE UNRAVELING OF THE NATION-STATE IN THE MIDDLE EAST: EXAMPLES OF IRAQ AND SYRIA Defense and Strategic Studies Missouri State University, December 2017 Master of Science Zachary Kielp ABSTRACT After the carnage of World War One and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire a new form of political organization was brought to the Middle East, the Nation-State.
    [Show full text]
  • Iraq Index Tracking Variables of Reconstruction & Security in Post-Saddam Iraq
    Iraq Index Tracking Variables of Reconstruction & Security in Post-Saddam Iraq http://www.brookings.edu/iraqindex March 31, 2011 Foreign Policy at Brookings Tracks Security and Reconstruction in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan Afghanistan Index » http://www.brookings.edu/afghanistanindex Iraq Index » http://www.brookings.edu/iraqindex Pakistan Index » http://www.brookings.edu/pakistanindex Michael E. O’Hanlon Ian Livingston For more information please contact Ian Livingston at [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS Tracking the Aftermath of the Surge Page Estimated Number of Iraqi Civilian Fatalities by Month, May 2003-Present…….…...…………………………..…….....….. UPDATED 3.31.11….……3 Detailed Explanation of Iraqi Civilian Fatality Estimates by Time Period……………. UPDATED 3.31.11…..…….……..……………………………….4 Enemy-Initiated Attacks Against the Coalition and Its Partners, by Week..…………..… …...……...……………………………………....…………….....5 Iraqi Military and Police Killed Monthly…………..……………………………….....… . UPDATED 3.31.11....………….……………….....………...……5 Weapons Caches Found and Cleared in Iraq, January 2004-Present……………………...………..……………………………………………………….....6 Number of Roadside and Car Bombs in Kirkuk, 2007-2010………………NEW 2.25.11….….………………………………………………………………6 Multiple Fatality Bombings in Iraq………………… . UPDATED 2.25.11…………....…...………..….……..…………………………………..………..…..7 Killed and Wounded in Multiple Fatality Bombings…….……………....... UPDATED 2.25.11.……...…...………..………..…………..….……..………...7 Number of Multiple Fatality Bombings Targeting Civilians by Sectarian Group and Month……
    [Show full text]
  • AL-MANAR REVISITED the “Lighthouse” of the Islamic Revival
    1 AL-MANAR REVISITED The “lighthouse” of the Islamic revival Kosugi Yasushi The intellectual map of the Islamic world has experienced a number of rather drastic changes during the twentieth century, continuing on from the turbulent years of the previous century. Various trends of thought and sociopolitical ideas stemming from the West, such as modernism, liberalism, nationalism, socialism, and communism, among others, appeared in Muslim societies, and all of these cast serious doubts on traditional Islamic thought and institutions. Especially modernism, often associated with Westernization, and nationalism, more often secular than not, were undermining traditional Islamic values, while profound socioeconomic transformation was undermining the basis upon which traditional Islamic societies, as well as their intellectual leaders, used to stand. Against this backdrop, a new Islamic trend calling for a reform of Muslim societies appeared. As this trend voiced the aspiration to revive the Islamic world, or the Islamic umma (community), to use their own terms, we may call this trend Islamic revivalism. The journal of al-Manar (Majalla al-Manar),1 the main subject of this article, was the major mouthpiece for this trend. It was published regularly between 1898 and 1935, and its intellectual heritage was maintained by later popular movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the Association of Algerian ‘Ulama’ in Algeria. The trend, however, seemed to have lost its momentum by the early 1950s, when Arab nationalism and other secular trends started to overshadow the previous Islamic trends. Accordingly, the contri- butions of al-Manar appeared obsolete. “Manar” in Arabic means a “lighthouse,” or a “beacon.” The journal tried to be a lighthouse in a turbulent ocean where all Islamic ships were suffering the awful storm of the modern world, metaphorically speaking.
    [Show full text]
  • The Political Failure of Islamic Law
    The Political Failure of Islamic Law Bernard Haykel Yale Law School a Occasional Papers The Political Failure of Islamic Law Bernard Haykel The Dallah Albaraka Lectures on Islamic Law and Civilization September 24, 2013 Yale Law School a Occasional Papers New Haven 2014 Bernard Haykel is Professor of Near Eastern Studies and Direc- he title chosen for this lecture is deliberately provocative tor of the Institute for Transregional Study of the Contempo- T and somewhat misleading. It is not meant to suggest rary Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia at Princeton that Islam, or Islamic law, has failed in some general or nor- University. The views expressed in this lecture are solely those of mative sense. Rather, the lecture will argue that the e≠ort Professor Haykel. © 2014 Bernard Haykel by modern Sunni Muslim Reformers, and their Islamist fol- lowers, to generate Islamic legal rulings has failed to achieve the political vision of a powerful and confident Islamic order. The Reformers’ political program has failed both because their interpretation of the law has proven inadequate to deliver on its promises and because the instrument through which they chose to impose this interpretation—the institu- tion of the modern state—has proven inappropriate for the purpose. I hope to show here that this failure is due to the fact that the program of the modern Sunni Reformers rep- resents a double rupture with the past: first, the Reformers deliberately chose to sweep away the teachings of the estab- lished schools of law; second, they opted for the state rather than society as the means by which to impose their program.
    [Show full text]
  • Living Under Drones Death, Injury, and Trauma to Civilians from US Drone Practices in Pakistan
    Fall 08 September 2012 Living Under Drones Death, Injury, and Trauma to Civilians From US Drone Practices in Pakistan International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic Stanford Law School Global Justice Clinic http://livingunderdrones.org/ NYU School of Law Cover Photo: Roof of the home of Faheem Qureshi, a then 14-year old victim of a January 23, 2009 drone strike (the first during President Obama’s administration), in Zeraki, North Waziristan, Pakistan. Photo supplied by Faheem Qureshi to our research team. Suggested Citation: INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION CLINIC (STANFORD LAW SCHOOL) AND GLOBAL JUSTICE CLINIC (NYU SCHOOL OF LAW), LIVING UNDER DRONES: DEATH, INJURY, AND TRAUMA TO CIVILIANS FROM US DRONE PRACTICES IN PAKISTAN (September, 2012) TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I ABOUT THE AUTHORS III EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS V INTRODUCTION 1 METHODOLOGY 2 CHALLENGES 4 CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT 7 DRONES: AN OVERVIEW 8 DRONES AND TARGETED KILLING AS A RESPONSE TO 9/11 10 PRESIDENT OBAMA’S ESCALATION OF THE DRONE PROGRAM 12 “PERSONALITY STRIKES” AND SO-CALLED “SIGNATURE STRIKES” 12 WHO MAKES THE CALL? 13 PAKISTAN’S DIVIDED ROLE 15 CONFLICT, ARMED NON-STATE GROUPS, AND MILITARY FORCES IN NORTHWEST PAKISTAN 17 UNDERSTANDING THE TARGET: FATA IN CONTEXT 20 PASHTUN CULTURE AND SOCIAL NORMS 22 GOVERNANCE 23 ECONOMY AND HOUSEHOLDS 25 ACCESSING FATA 26 CHAPTER 2: NUMBERS 29 TERMINOLOGY 30 UNDERREPORTING OF CIVILIAN CASUALTIES BY US GOVERNMENT SOURCES 32 CONFLICTING MEDIA REPORTS 35 OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
    [Show full text]
  • Wanting, Not Waiting
    WINNERSdateline OF THE OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB AWARDS 2011 Wanting, Not Waiting 2012 Another Year of Uprisings SPECIAL EDITION dateline 2012 1 letter from the president ne year ago, at our last OPC Awards gala, paying tribute to two of our most courageous fallen heroes, I hardly imagined that I would be standing in the same position again with the identical burden. While last year, we faced the sad task of recognizing the lives and careers of two Oincomparable photographers, Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros, this year our attention turns to two writers — The New York Times’ Anthony Shadid and Marie Colvin of The Sunday Times of London. While our focus then was on the horrors of Gadhafi’s Libya, it is now the Syria of Bashar al- Assad. All four of these giants of our profession gave their lives in the service of an ideal and a mission that we consider so vital to our way of life — a full, complete and objective understanding of a world that is so all too often contemptuous or ignorant of these values. Theirs are the same talents and accomplishments to which we pay tribute in each of our awards tonight — and that the Overseas Press Club represents every day throughout the year. For our mission, like theirs, does not stop as we file from this room. The OPC has moved resolutely into the digital age but our winners and their skills remain grounded in the most fundamental tenets expressed through words and pictures — unwavering objectivity, unceasing curiosity, vivid story- telling, thought-provoking commentary.
    [Show full text]
  • The Frailty of Authority. Borders, Non-State Actors and Power
    The Frailty of Authority Borders, Non-State Actors and Power Vacuums in a Changing Middle East Lorenzo Kamel THE FRAILTY OF AUTHORITY BORDERS, NON-STATE ACTORS AND POWER VACUUMS IN A CHANGING MIDDLE EAST edited by Lorenzo Kamel in collaboration with Edizioni Nuova Cultura First published 2017 by Edizioni Nuova Cultura For Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) Via Angelo Brunetti 9 - I-00186 Rome www.iai.it Copyright © 2017 Edizioni Nuova Cultura - Rome ISBN: 9788868128289 Cover: by Luca Mozzicarelli Graphic Composition: by Luca Mozzicarelli The unauthorized reproduction of this book, even partial, carried out by any means, including photocopying, even for internal or didactic use, is prohibited by copyright. Table of contents List of contributors ........................................................................................................................................ 7 List of abbreviations ..................................................................................................................................... 9 Preface, by Nicolò Russo Perez ............................................................................................................... 11 Introduction, by Lorenzo Kamel ............................................................................................................ 15 1. Early Warning Signs in the Arab World That We Ignored – And Still Ignore by Rami G. Khouri ..................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Conflicted: the New York Times and the Bias Question Epilogue CSJ-10
    CSJ‐ 10‐ 0034.2 PO Conflicted: The New York Times and the Bias Question Epilogue New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller’s rebuttal ran adjacent to Ombudsman Clark Hoyt’s column on the Times’ website on February 6, 2010. Neither Hoyt’s column nor Keller’s response ran in the paper. Keller opened by offering a quick and forceful endorsement of the Times’ Jerusalem bureau chief, Ethan Bronner. Then Keller argued that the decision to keep Bronner in Jerusalem was made out of respect for open‐minded readers who, he said, Hoyt improperly implied were not capable of distinguishing reality from appearances. He noted that the paper’s rulebook properly gave editors wide latitude to act in conflict of interest cases. Indeed, he continued, a journalist’s personal connections to a subject could contribute depth and texture to their reporting. As examples, he cited C.J. Chivers, Anthony Shadid, and Nazila Fathi. However, he chose not to go into detail about their biographies. Nor did he write about columnist Thomas Friedman and the instances in which he was touched by the Israeli‐Palestinian conflict. Instead, Keller observed that, as a reader, he could discern nothing in these journalists’ reporting that betrayed their personal feeling about the issues they covered. Finally, he closed with the argument that the paper had to be careful not to capitulate to partisans on either side of a conflict. To submit to their demands would rob the paper of experienced journalists like Bronner, whereas in fact the partisans were incapable of fairly evaluating him. This did not mean, he said, that he was denying the significance of Bronner’s family connections to Israel.
    [Show full text]
  • Syria Story -1- from 10000 BC to 2011 AD
    Syria Story -1- from 10000 BC to 2011 AD The homeland of the human civilization is a victim of the Global Market know more, think more, help more Book under printing under Book book under printing under book http://www.infosalam.com/home/syria_story/ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-World-War-III-in-Syria/489005137809173 Damascus, the capital of Syria, is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Back to 10000 B.C Damascus is the daughter of Barada river Archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth Imaginary painting of The ancient city of Mari (2900 – 1759 BC) in the east of Syria The Ugaritic Alphabet – the first standard Alphabet human knew. It was created by ancient Syrians Phoenician around 1300 BC (Syria - Ras Shamra) The desert city of Palmyra, whose ruins are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, grew large in the Syrian desert in the 1st and 2nd centuries (A.D.). St John's Chapel inside the Ummayad mosque The holy destination for Muslims and Christians Water Wheels in Hama, 1500 years old Saladin accepts the surrender of Guy de Lusignan and the European armies following the massive success of Saladin at the Battle of Hattin Aleppo (7000 years old) an old photo Ottoman troops parading through Damascus, near Marjeh Square, during World War I in 1914 The same place where Djemal Pasha al-Saffah, "the Blood Shedder", being responsible for the hanging of many Lebanese, Syrian on 6 May 1916 On 1918 Syria was free of Ottoman occupation Damascus 1920 Al-Hamidia The main marketing
    [Show full text]
  • Hitler from American Ex-Pats' Perspective
    THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB OF AMERICA, NEW YORK, NY • MARCH 2012 Hitler From American Ex-Pats’ Perspective EVENT PREVIEW: MARCH 19 by Sonya K. Fry There have been many history books written about World War II, the economic reasons for Hitler’s rise to power, the psychology of Adolf Hitler as an art student, and a myriad of topics delving into the phenome- non that was Hitler. Andy Nagorski’s new book Hitlerland looks at this time frame from the perspective of American expatriates who lived in Andrey Rudakov Germany and witnessed the Nazi rise Andrew Nagorski to power. In researching Hitlerland, Na- Even those who did not take Hitler for the Kremlin. gorski tapped into a rich vein of in- seriously, however, would concede Others who came to Germany cu- dividual stories that provide insight that his oratory skills and charisma rious about what was going on there into what it was like to work or travel would propel him into prominence. include the architect Philip Johnson, in Germany in the midst of these Nagorski looks at Charles Lind- the dancer Josephine Baker, a young seismic events. berg who was sent to Germany in Harvard student John F. Kennedy Many of the first-hand accounts 1936 to obtain intelligence on the and historian W.E.B. Dubois. in memoirs, correspondence and in- Luftwaffe. Karl Henry von Wiegand, Andy Nagorski is an award win- terviews were from journalists and the famed Hearst correspondent was ning journalist with a long career at diplomats. There were those who the first American reporter to meet Newsweek.
    [Show full text]
  • Abstract Title of Dissertation: NEGOTIATING the PLACE OF
    Abstract Title of Dissertation: NEGOTIATING THE PLACE OF ASSYRIANS IN MODERN IRAQ, 1960–1988 Alda Benjamen, Doctor of Philosophy, 2015 Dissertation Directed by: Professor Peter Wien Department of History This dissertation deals with the social, intellectual, cultural, and political history of the Assyrians under changing regimes from the 1960s to the 1980s. It examines the place of Assyrians in relation to a state that was increasing in strength and influence, and locates their interactions within socio-political movements that were generally associated with the Iraqi opposition. It analyzes the ways in which Assyrians contextualized themselves in their society and negotiated for social, cultural, and political rights both from the state and from the movements with which they were affiliated. Assyrians began migrating to urban Iraqi centers in the second half of the twentieth century, and in the process became more integrated into their societies. But their native towns and villages in northern Iraq continued to occupy an important place in their communal identity, while interactions between rural and urban Assyrians were ongoing. Although substantially integrated in Iraqi society, Assyrians continued to retain aspects of the transnational character of their community. Transnational interactions between Iraqi Assyrians and Assyrians in neighboring countries and the diaspora are therefore another important phenomenon examined in this dissertation. Finally, the role of Assyrian women in these movements, and their portrayal by intellectuals,
    [Show full text]
  • Part III Contemporary Muslim Insights on Muslim Governance and International Relations Nassef Manabilang Adiong
    Part III Contemporary Muslim Insights on Muslim Governance and International Relations Nassef Manabilang Adiong For more than 1,400 years before decolonization Muslims had practiced various political systems, such as the caliphate, sultanate, and imamate. Sometimes the leader had both spiritual and temporal authority, often- times the roles were separated, depending on particular needs. Indeed, Muslims experimented widely with their governmental systems by borrowing, emulating, and adapting from foreign practices (mostly from the ancient Persians, Greeks, and Indians), but with a spirit of creativity and innovation. However, after destruction by Mongolian invasion and colonialization by European Christendom, Muslim civilization never fully recuperated, and the sickness of fundamentalism, radicalization, and intellectual stagnation emerged within its communities. The spirit of creativity, innovation, and intellectualism gradually faded away and remained dormant. Consequently, nation-state system was abruptly adapted by most of the contemporary Muslim countries. Nation-state’s elements such as citizenry, territoriality, authority, constitution, and sovereignty configured the whole system of Muslim governance. Muslim political expressions The spread of Islam was done through missionary (sometimes propa- ganda) work, diplomacy, and conquest. 1 Prophet Muhammad 2 brought in a new kind of community beyond Arab kinship, in which non-Arabs and non-Muslims took part in the formation of polity. This new polity would soon be guided by shari’ah to regulate people’s beliefs, rituals, leadership, families, business, morals, etc. 3 In Fazlur Rahman’s under- standing, the inception of the Muslim community was connected with 155 156 Nassef Manabilang Adiong three events: “the declaration that all Muslims must undertake the hajj (pilgrimage) to Makkah, that jihad (struggle in the way of Allah) is oblig- atory, and that the qiblah ’s direction is changed from Jerusalem to the Ka’bah in Makkah.”4 After the demise of the Prophet in 632, his succession became a polit- ical question.
    [Show full text]